I am in favor of adoption of the county ordinance to lease the Trinity property to North American Development Group so that the project can move forward. I have served as a volunteer on the county’s Trinity Advisory Committee and have in-depth knowledge and perspective on the history, objectives, alternatives, and trade-offs inherent in the project This is a complex project and it required answering many questions and addressing many issues. The questions and issues I have seen raised in the recent public discussion are good ones. I have seen none that were not fully considered by the work of the committee and county in making the recommendation to proceed.
I have also noted that there are considerable inaccuracies, misinformation, and misinterpretations in many of the letters that have been appearing in the Los Alamos Monitor criticizing the project. This is understandable given that it is a complex project and that it has played out through multiple iterations. I have to commend the County Administrator and the School Superintendent for holding so many public forums in the past few weeks to give people who truly want it a good explanation of the project.
The key goals of the project, 1) to increase the ability of our citizens to meet their day to day shopping needs within the community, 2) to augment the Los Alamos Public Schools operating revenues, and 3) to make progress toward implementing the adopted downtown plan are all positively addressed by moving ahead. These remain just as important of goals for our community as ever.
That said, I recognize that the project is not perfect in terms of being all things to all people, but a perfect project is a pipe dream. However, this project will help our community to make significant progress on multiple important goals. If you support progress on these goals, please join in supporting this project.
Kevin Holsapple
Los Alamos